Aachen

Aachen, known as Aix-la-Chapelle in French, is a border city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, located near the borders with Belgium and the Netherlands. Aachen was founded as the Roman spa of Aquae Granni, and its name itself means "stream" in Old High German. Aachen became the preferred medieval residence of Charlemagne, and it served as the coronation site of 31 Holy Roman Emperors from 936 to 1531. Aachen is currently a major city of innovation, with RWTH Aachen University being one of Germany's leading higher technology institutes. In 2015, Aachen had a population of 245,885 people.